Permafrost soils store large quantities of frozen carbon and play an important role in regulating Earth’s climate. In a study published in Nature Geoscience, researchers from Umeå University, Sweden, in collaboration with an international team, now show that river greenhouse gas emissions rise high in areas where Siberian permafrost is actively thawing.

Climate Impacts Research Centre scientists Ellen Dorrepaal and Keith Larson feature in a new film project about climate by Swedish artists Bigert & Bergström. The following description is in Swedish...

POLAR serves as a point of contact for the international polar research community for research opportunities in Canada's Arctic and to collaborate with Canadian researchers in the Antarctic. The Canada-Sweden Arctic Research Station Early Career Scientist Exchange Program is a pilot project that could develop into a program that promotes a longer-term exchange of ideas and information, and could be used as a model for other international partnerships. POLAR is committed to inspiring, motivating, and supporting students to continue their education and pursue a career in science and technology, which includes supporting the next generation of researchers.

[2018-02-16] In North America, the spread of European earthworms is a known environmental issue as it has turned out that some of these species are capable of altering entire forest ecosystems. In Sweden, we have so far had a positive approach to earthworms and no policies have been put in place to limit the spread of these worms in Swedish national parks. A new study from Umeå University in North Sweden now shows that the Swedish approach may need revision.

Communicating science does not always come natural, but just like other aspects of scientific work it is a skill that can be learned. In October, the Faculty of Science and Technology starts the new course "Communicating scientific research" aimed at doctoral students.

John Anderson holds the royal environmental professorship at Umeå University for 2017–2018. On Wednesday 14 February, he will together with four colleagues, hold open lectures with the Swedish King in the audience. The theme is climate effects on Northern ecosystems.

"It is well known that we live in a microbial world – with microbes all over our bodies, in our homes, in the air we breath, and in the ground we walk on. In the soil, these bacteria, fungi and other eukaryotes help plants grow, cycle water and important nutrients, and keep our ecosystems functioning. Researchers all over the world are using high-throughput sequencing to study these important microbes, but keeping the corresponding data catalogued and organized is a challenge - especially if we are to use it to respond to questions of global change. In our recent study, we tackle this challenge by bringing together disparate soil bacterial datasets from over 1900 soil samples collected from 21 countries spread across the world."

Airborne method of understanding northern lakes

[2017-10-04] Researchers at Umeå University in Sweden are exploring the potential to create a landscape level map of the shapes of lake basins through a laser survey. This is a critical missing piece of the puzzle for understanding the role of lake carbon cycling at large spatial scales.

Studying nature in a slow-changing climate is time-consuming. But Maja Sundqvist speeds things up by using natural variations in altitude in different mountain regions to explore how a warmer climate will affect both alpine and arctic ecosystems.